Warm water producer

ABSTRACT

A series of pipes in the space between the outer casing and the inner lining carry water to be heated back and forth until it is finally emptied into the interior of the lining which acts as a reservoir from which the heated water can be drawn off. Hot heating water flows in the space between the outer casing and the inner lining.

United States Patent Otto Domok Luzern, Switzerland 804,461

Mar. 5, 1969 May 1 1 1971 Strebelwerk AG Rothrist, Switzerland Mar. 14, 1968 Switzerland inventor Appl. No. Filed Patented Assignee Priority WARM WATER PRODUCER 7 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 165/132, 122/32,126/366,165/1l,165/145,165/158,

Int. Cl F2411 l/46, F28d 1/06 Field of Search 165/132, 144, 145, 155, 158-161; 122/32; 126/366 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,083,679 6/1937 Adams 165/158X 2,180,620 11/1939 Thrush 165/158 2,889,139 6/1959 Hedberg... 165/132 3,129,697 4/ 1964 Trepaud 165/158X FOREIGN PATENTS 629,462 10/ 1 961 Canada 165/132 55,293 9/1938 Denmark.. 165/132 85,844 7/1958 Denmark 165/132 Primary Examiner-Albert W. Davis, Jr. AttorneyWaters, Roditi and Schwartz ABSTRACT: A series of pipes in the space between the outer casing and the inner lining carry water to be heated back and forth until it is finally emptied into the interior of the lining which acts as a reservoir from which the heated water can be drawn off. Hot heating water flows in the space between the outer casing and the inner lining.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a warm water producer for heating a supply of water by means of hot water.

Storage systems and continuous throughput heaters are known as such warm water producers. Storage systems consist, for example, of a simple casing with a heating element in the form of hairpin pipes or assemblies. Another system has a double lined boiler in which the ratio of the inner and outer diameters is nearly unity, e.g. between 0.85 and 0.95. Furthermore, storage heaters are known wherein the ratio of the hydraulic diameter of the cells to the diameter of the outer casing lies in the region of 0.12 to 0.6. Continuous throughput heaters, in which the ratio of the pipe diameter to the casing diameter lies in the range from 0.0] to 0.1, only have a very small storage volume.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention seeks to combine the advantages of storage systems and of throughput heaters, in order to achieve, with a given space, a technically and economically optimum preparation of warm water.

According to the invention, a warm water producer is provided, in which straight pipes for the supply of water are arranged in the axial direction and in series and/or in parallel in the space between an inner lining and an outer casing and are at least partly connected with the interior of the inner lining which has a warm water outlet, the hot water for heating the supply of water being passed into the space and flowing around the pipes and the inner lining. 1

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Certain embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal section of a warm water producer taken on the line l-I of FIG. 2;

FIG. 2 shows a cross section on the line lI-II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an interior view of the front cover of the warm water producer of FIG. 1;

FIG 4 is an interior view of the back cover of the warm water producer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a view of a sealing gasket for the front cover of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a view of a sealing gasket for the back cover of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 shows partly in section a pedestal member of the warm water producer of FIG. 1, which is formed as a hot water inlet or supply pipe and, partly in plan view a sector of the warm water producer.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS According to FIGS. 1 and 2, a warm water producer has a cylindrical outer casing l and a cylindrical inner lining 2 which is coaxial to the outer casing. A front cover 3 and a back cover 4 are attached to the open ends of the outer casing l, flanges 5 on the cover and flanges on the outer casing being screwed together.

Straight pipes 6 and 7 are arranged in the axial direction between the outer casing l and the inner lining 2, which pipes are provided for the conveyance and heating of the supply of water. Flanges 51 include openings 52 supporting the pipes 6 and 7 in circumferential array. Each tube 6, 7 opens at its ends onto one of several chambers 8, 9, l0 and 11 which are arranged along the periphery in the front and back covers 4, 3. The chambers 8 serve to divert the supply of water from a pipe 6 to an adjoining pipe 7 and then into a further pipe 6. The chamber 9 is provided with a cold water supply pipe 12. The chambers 10 and II each have an opening 13 into the interior of the inner lining 2, the chamber 11 in the rear cover being provided with a hot water outlet 14.

It is apparent from FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 that the supply of cold water enters the chamber 9 of the rear cover 4 by way of the cold water supply pipe 12 and is distributed to the two lowermost pipes 6 as an input. In the lowest chamber 8 of the front cover 3, the water is diverted into the two nearest upper pipes and flows back through these as a return flow to the rear cover 4, in the lowest chamber 8 of which it is again diverted.

This forward and return flow of the water continues until the water reaches the two uppermost pipes 6 and flows out at their ends into the chamber 10 in the front cover 3, from where the water passes through the opening into the interior of the inner lining 2. The water which has only been warmed passes out of the interior through the opening 13b in the rear cover 4 into its uppermost chamber 11 and from there through the hot water outlet 14 to the user. In the present embodiment, the pipes 6, 7 are thus arranged in two parallel lines and in series within each line, whereby both lines open into the interior of the inner lining 2.

Hot water for heating the supply of water flowing in the pipes 6, 7 and stored in the interior of the inner lining 2 is supplied to the space between the inner lining 2 and the outer casing 1 and outside the pipes (FIG. 1, 2). Conductive baffle plates I5 are arranged in the space between the inner lining and the outer casing, by which the hot water flowing in a forced circulation by use of a compression pump (not shown) is repeatedly recycled and thus a higher average speed is reached. Through the arrangement of the baffle plates 15, the heat-transfer coefficient at the hot waterside can be increased to a multiple of what it otherwise is. With this circulation, the hot water first of all warms the supply of water flowing in the pipes 6, 7 and then, via the inner lining 2, the supply of water stored in the inner space.

The supply of hot water to the space between the inner 'lining 2 and the outer casing l is performed according to FIGS. 1 and 7 by way of a pedestal construction 16 of the warm water producer. The pedestal 16 has a vertical passageway opening into the intermediate space, to which a hot water supply pipe 17 is attached. The pedestal 16 is furthermore provided with a discharge connection 18. A hot water outlet 19 15, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, arranged in the upper part of the outer casing 1 at the opposite end. Furthermore, an expansion and vent line 20, situated above the highest point of the outer lining 1 and preferably upwardly inclined, is shown in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIGS. I and 2, a water supply connection 21, which is in communication with the inner space, is arranged in the rear cover 4. This serves for effecting a permanent circulation of the supply of water via a line (not shown) leading to the hot water outlet 14. Furthermore, according to FIG. 1, nipples 22, 23 are provided in the front cover 3 for inserting a thermometer and thermostat.

In order to prevent a short circuit or leakage in the flow of the supply of water between the deflection chamber 8 and the inner chamber of the inner lining 2, suitably formed sealing gaskets 24, 25 are arranged between the flanges of the cylindrical casing 1, 2 on the one side and the flanges of the front and back covers 3, 4 on the other, the gasket of the front cover 3 being illustrated in FIG. 5 and that of the back cover 4 in FIG. 6. The position and size of the openings 26 in the gaskets 24, 25 depends, as previously explained, on the position of the chambers 8, 9, I0, 11 (FIGS. 3, 4) and the pipes 6, 7 (FIG. 2).

The hydraulic diameter of the inner lining 2, the outer casing 1 and the pipes 6, 7 is advantageously chosen so that the ratio of the tube diameter d to the diameter d of the outer.

casing lies between 0.015 and 0.1 and the ratio of the diameter d of the inner lining 2 to the diameter d of the outer casing 1 lies between 0.6 and 0.95.

Instead of being arranged in series or in parallel, the pipes 6, 7 can be arranged, with a suitable formation of the deflection chambers in the covers 4, 3, in a different way and can be connected with each other. By way of example, only one part of the pipes is arranged in series or in series and parallel and is connected with the interior of the inner lining 2. A further part of the pipes is likewise arranged in series or in series and parallel, but is connected directly with a second hot water outlet. This second part of the pipes then forms a separate system as a pure continuous throughput heater. This variation allows, particularly, two warm water supply systems, each under different pressure, to operate with a single wann water producer.

Although the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described, the scope of, and the breadth of protection afforded to, the invention are limited solely by the appended claims.

lclaim:

l. A water heater comprising a casing having opposite open ends, an inner lining concentrically arranged with said casing internally of and annularly spaced from the latter, a plurality of pipes having opposite open ends extending longitudinally and parallel to one another in a circumferential array in the annular space between said inner lining and said casing, means for supporting said pipes in said circumferential array and for closing off said annular space, a pair of longitudinally spaced end covers connected to said opposite open ends of said casing respectively, said end covers each including means defining a plurality of chambers for communicating with the opposite open ends of said pipes, one of said end covers having an inlet port for supplying fluid to be heated thereto, sealing means operatively associated with said chambers in said end covers for directing the flow of said fluid to be heated to said pipes in succession, one chamber in each of said end covers communicating with the internal space of said inner lining for respectively passing the fluid to be heated into and out of the internal space of said inner lining, one of said end covers having an outlet port communicating with the chamber passing the heated fluid out of the internal space of said inner lining for expelling heated fluid from said casing, and means connected to saidcasing defining inlet and outlet ports communicating with said annular space between said casing andsaid inner lining for passing thereto and expelling therefrom respectively a heating fluid for heating the fluid to be heated.

2. A water heater as claimed in claim 1 wherein said pipes are divided into two groups, one of which groups channeling the fluid to be heated to said internal space of said inner lining, the other of which groups including an outlet pipe for passing the fluid outwardly of said casing and bypassing said internal space of said inner lining.

3. A water heater as claimed in claim 1 wherein said sealing means includes two annular gaskets connected respectively and interposed between the opposite ends of said casing and said end covers.

4. A water heater as claimed in claim 3 wherein said sealing gaskets include a plurality of openings in circumferential array corresponding in size to that of the chambers with which each is operatively associated.

5. The water heater as defined in claim 1, including baffle plates arranged in the space between said casing and inner lining for guiding the heating water and increasing its velocity.

6. The water heater as defined in claim 1, including a pedestal (16) for said casing, and a heating water inlet (17) and a discharge outlet (18) incorporated in said pedestal.

7. The water heater as defined in R1, wherein the ratio of the hydraulic diameter (d of the pipes to the diameter (d of the casing is from 0.015 to 0.1 and the ratio of the diameter (d,) of the inner lining to the diameter (d,,) of the casing is from 0.6 to 0.95. 

1. A water heater comprising a casing having opposite open ends, an inner lining concentrically arranged with said casing internally of and annularly spaced from the latter, a plurality of pipes having opposite open ends extending longitudinally and parallel to one another in a circumferential array in the annular space between said inner lining and said casing, means for supporting said pipes in said circumferential array and for closing off said annular space, a pair of longitudinally spaced end covers connected to said opposite open ends of said casing respectively, said end covers each including means defining a plurality of chambers for communicating with the opposite open ends of said pipes, one of said end covers having an inlet port for supplying fluid to be heated thereto, sealing means operatively associated with said chambers in said end covers for directing the flow of said fluid to be heated to said pipes in succession, one chamber in each of said end covers communicating with the internal space of said inner lining for respectively passing the fluid to be heated into and out of the internal space of said inner lining, one of said end covers having an outlet port communicating with the chamber passing the heated fluid out of the internal space of said inner lining for expelling heated fluid from said casing, and means connected to said casing defining inlet and outlet ports communicating with said annular space between said casing and said inner lining for passing thereto and expelling therefrom respectively a heating fluid for heating the fluid to be heated.
 2. A water heater as claimed in claim 1 wherein said pipes are divided into two groups, one of which groups channeling the fluid to be heated to said internal space of said inner lining, the other of which groups including an outlet pipe for passing the fluid outwardly of said casing and bypassing said internal space of said inner lining.
 3. A water heater as claimed in claim 1 wherein said sealing means includes two annular gaskets connected respectively and interposed between the opposite ends of said casing and said end covers.
 4. A water heater as claimed in claim 3 wherein said sealing gaskets include a plurality of openings in circumferential array corresponding in size to that of the chambers with which each is operatively associated.
 5. The water heater as defined in claim 1, including baffle plates arranged in the space betweeN said casing and inner lining for guiding the heating water and increasing its velocity.
 6. The water heater as defined in claim 1, including a pedestal (16) for said casing, and a heating water inlet (17) and a discharge outlet (18) incorporated in said pedestal.
 7. The water heater as defined in R1, wherein the ratio of the hydraulic diameter (dR) of the pipes to the diameter (da) of the casing is from 0.015 to 0.1 and the ratio of the diameter (di) of the inner lining to the diameter (da) of the casing is from 0.6 to 0.95. 